Supplies for Adventure

by **Oralie** on January 2nd, 2022, 6:45 pm

34 Winter, 521

Oralie headed down the steps of the Protea Inn, pausing to smile as the sunlight hit her face. It was early; the Kelvic had not long finished washing the dishes from breakfast, but she wanted to finish this particular task before lunchtime. She had her waterproof backpack on her back, though it hung a little funny since it was currently empty.

She made her way along the cobbled footpath in the direction of the City Core. Down on the beach she could see somebody fishing, though they were a little too far away for her to tell who it was just from the back of their head. It did not take long for the Core to appear in her view, and she picked up the pace then, heading for the Mercantile.

Oralie wandered inside to see Juli arranging some clothing on a display rack. The woman turned and beamed a smile at the Kelvic when she saw who had come in. “Oralie! It’s nice to see you so early.” Oralie smiled back. “Hello Juli.” She shrugged off the empty pack and placed it on the counter. “Remember you said to me that you would help me with some things if I needed to go into the jungle?”

Juli raised an eyebrow in surprise. Oralie didn’t blame her, not too long ago she had balked at the idea of venturing into the trees when the woman had mentioned it. “You feeling more adventurous now? You better not be going by yourself!” Oralie shook her head. “Tazrae and Moritz invited me to find an um, Arbour? I think that is the word.” Juli nodded. “Ah I see. Well, lets get this pack filled up then!”

“First things first, you are not going anywhere near the trees wearing that skirt.” Juli turned back to the clothing rack. “As much of you needs to be covered as possible.” The woman thrust various items into Oralie’s arms, and the Kelvic took them over to the counter to have a look. There were two pairs of moss green Isuas pants and two shirts, one a beige colour and the other a warmer yellow-toned tan.

Next Oralie tried on a couple of pairs of boots to find a pair that fitted well. The boots came up to her knees and were made of a sturdy brown leather. A leather belt was added too, with a loop for a weapon and a small pouch to store items.

Juli looked at Oralie for a moment, considering something before adding a couple of very small scarves. The Kelvic held one up curiously, wondering what such a small piece of fabric would be for. Juli chuckled at her expression. “To tie your hair up. The jungle is sticky and your hair will make you sweaty if you don’t keep it off you. Plus with hair as long as yours it will probably get tangled in things.” Oralie nodded, for it made sense. She would have to practice ways to tie her hair back before she went on the trip to make sure any style would stay in.

The last item of clothing to be folded into the rucksack was something Juli called a rain slicker. “It’s mighty wet in the jungle so one of these might come in handy.” Oralie ran her fingers over the material of the coat. Juli explained that it was regular Isuas cloth that had been treated with a special oil to make it repel water.

+579

by **Oralie** on January 2nd, 2022, 10:31 pm

“You have a weapon right?” Oralie nodded. “Yes, I have a shortbow. I am not so skilled at using it though.” That made her pause. She would need to do something about that soon, for she did not want to be a burden on the other two out in the jungle. “That’s good, but you will need one of these too.”

Juli placed a large knife on the counter, much to Oralie’s alarm. “It’s a machete. You will need it for chopping your way through the jungle. Makes a good weapon too though, especially for you if you need to defend yourself up close. Your bow won’t be so handy for that huh!” Oralie picked up the machete. It was not overly heavy, which was a relief, and it had a good balance. She noticed too that it would fit nicely in the loop on the leather belt.

“Okay, now the bits and pieces.” Oralie turned back to the counter to fold the clothing items that were taking up space, before placing them at the bottom of her pack. The pack was then placed carefully on the floor next to the leather boots. Behind her, she could hear Juli mumbling to herself as she roamed around the store.

The other woman returned with her arms full and dumped the lot on the counter. She picked up each item in turn and passed it to Oralie, who inspected each one and then carefully placed it in her pack on the floor.

“So you will want a hammock and a coil of rope, you never know if you will be there overnight. And then this tarp to go with it. Also a bedroll.” She handed Oralie a tightly folded bundle which got added to the backpack. “If you are sleeping in the jungle you need to be off the ground because there are so many things down there that you do not want joining you when you sleep. Ants, snakes... that sort of thing. The tarp will keep you dry and the bedroll will keep you warm.”

“I remember you bought a survival kit before; the first aid items, the fishing hooks and things will be good from that. Add this in too, it will be useful if you run out of safe water." She passed over small vial. "One drop per half pint. You’ll want some extra bandages too just in case. Also this.” Juli handed Oralie a small pouch filled with some sort of rough shredded material. “It’s coconut fibre. You’ll need it if you ever want to be starting any fires. Keep it dry otherwise it’s useless like almost all the plant matter you’ll come across in there. All you’re missing now is food and water, and you should have everything you need.” Juli gave a satisfied nod.

Oralie made sure everything was neatly packed into the rucksack and then carefully counted out the mizas she owed. While she was still nervous about going into the trees for what sounded like a substantial trip, at least she should be prepared.

Once she had paid and said goodbye to Juli, Oralie headed back out and turned in the direction of the Protea again. This time she wandered across the beach rather than the pathway as she was not in a rush. She had been walking for a short while when her eyes were drawn to something a little way ahead near the surf, half buried in the sand.

+563

by **Oralie** on January 2nd, 2022, 11:06 pm

Curious, Oralie picked up her pace and quickly reached the object. It appeared to be some sort of box, and she crouched to dig the rest of it out of the sand. She pulled it out and then set it carefully down. It was a chest, rather than a simple box, made of wood that had clearly seen many years. It was about the length of her forearm and about a third that deep.

Interestingly, instead of a lock, there was a shiny silver bell on the front of it. Oralie tilted her head as she looked at it, suddenly overcome with a need to ring it. She reached out and flicked it with a finger, and the little bell crumbled away with a clear chiming noise. Oralie blinked at the oddness.

She paused for a few ticks, wondering if it was some sort of trick, but when nothing happened she carefully eased the lid of the chest open. Inside she found several bundles all wrapped in beautiful red silk, somehow miraculously dry and free from sand. Rather than open any of them up, she closed the lid and examined the entire outside of the chest for any engraving, wondering if somebody had misplaced it. She couldn’t see anything obvious, and the box was clearly old and had been lost for a long while.

Oralie gathered the chest into her arms and decided to take it back with her to examine it better in her room. It did not take her long to get back and once there, she placed the box on the floor and carefully propped up her rucksack to be organised later. She opened the lid of the chest once more and set about unwrapping the contents.

The first thing she unwrapped was a pair of beautiful red velvet gloves. She had never felt velvet before, but knew it by sight for a lot of her master’s dinner guests had liked to wear it. They seemed a little large for her, but she pulled them on anyway, and froze when they seemed to shrink to fit her hands perfectly. They also appeared to now be made from red leather, the tough fabric wrapping snugly around her arm and reaching a good way over her wrist. Oralie turned her hands over several times, staring at the gloves before removing them and setting them to one side. They remained leather and she shrugged. They would be handy for the jungle she was sure.

The next three silk bundles contained a set of glass orbs with little hooks on the top, clearly meant to be hung up somewhere for decoration. They were very beautiful and Oralie admired their shiny surfaces. There was a yellow one and a blue one, and the third was flecked with silver. All together they reminded the Kelvic of Syka, with its sandy beach, ocean and sea spray.

She picked out a smaller bundle next, and found a palm sized red marble nestled in the silk. There was nothing particularly interesting about it, though it did have a little weight to it. Oralie tossed it into the air, intending to catch it in her other hand, but to her surprise the marble stayed floating and even moved a little further away from where she sat on the floor. Before she could do anything else the marble lit up from within, sending out a red light as bright as a torch that caused her to squint even in the daytime.

She quickly jumped up and grabbed the marble from the air, and it went dark again as she cradled it in her palm. Oralie shook her head. Just how many magical objects did Syka have lying around?! Tazrae had an outfits worth, then there was the hoard of trinkets at Tenday and now these? She carefully set the marble down next to the glass orbs.

There were two more items wrapped in the red silk. One turned out to be a lump of coal. Oralie turned it over in her hands but couldn’t tell if there was anything remarkable about it at all. The last item was a coconut, but it had been painted gold by someone. An amused smile wound its way over the Kelvic mouth as she examined it. Why anyone would want to paint a coconut was beyond her, but somehow it seemed to fit in with the odd assortment of items she had taken from the box. She wondered if all of the items were magical – the gloves and marble clearly were, but nothing else seemed obvious.

Not entirely sure what to do with them all, Oralie put all the silk back into the bottom of the chest and then arranged the items carefully on top before closing the lid. She would have to find a way to hang the orbs up for they were very beautiful, and the gloves and probably the marble she would take on the expedition. But the coconut and the coal? Clearly they had been special to someone for they had been so carefully wrapped. She would have to examine them further at a later time when she did not have jobs waiting to be done.

Oralie pushed the chest to one side of the room and then straightened out her skirts before heading back out to the kitchen to see if Tazrae needed help with the lunch, her mind still pondering on the curious chest and its contents. Would Syka ever stop surprising her? It was unlikely.

+920
=2062

items/ledger :

by **Gossamer** on February 15th, 2022, 2:25 am

GRADING

Oralie-

Observation +3, Socialization +3, Wilderness Survival +3, Planning +1, Scavenging +1, Investigation +2

Juli: Appearance and Mannerism, WS: Proper Attire For The Jungle, WS: Jungle Very Wet/Rain Protection Required, WS: Machete For Chopping Through Jungle, WS: Sleep Off The Ground, WS: The Contents Of A Survival Kit, Scavenging: Finding A Lost Chest

Note: Holiday Challenge Quest Prize Procured.

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